Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins

Jenkins, Jerry B. Riven. Tyndale House, 2008.

In this modern-day parable that reads like a movie, Thomas Carey is a frustrated and depressed prison chaplain who is clinging to his faith. Brady Wayne Darby is the trailer-park kid who finds himself in and out of trouble and prison. Their stories are told in alternating chapters until their lives intersect. The hyperbolic and sensational conclusion requires readers to suspend disbelief, but most readers will willingly do so as the riveting and moving drama grips them.

Jenkins, most famous for his Left Behind series, has said that this tome is his magnum opus. This is not the suspense drama of that series, so the pacing is much slower, the writing more literary and evocative. People who read Christian fiction will find this novel to be of the highest caliber. People who don't read Christian fiction for the seeming lack of quality available would do well to search this book out if they are interested in a very thought-provoking read. Quality Christian fiction exists. You just have to look for it. In Riven you will find it.

A patron recommended this to me and I am so glad I read it. It is lyrical, haunting, gripping and thought-provoking. The end will leave you breathless.

Recommendations:
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

One of the more literary and quality authors of the genre, Rivers is an excellent choice for anyone looking for well-written inspirational fiction. Readers interested in the redemptive themes in Riven will like Redeeming Love, a more modern retelling of the story of Hosea, the prophet of the Bible who married a prostitute. Set in the 1850s Gold Rush, Angel is a woman who as a child was sold into prostitution. Michael Hosea is the kind-hearted farmer who pities and marries her.

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

From another literary author, this story will appeal to readers who are interested in the theme of the intersecting lives of two hurting people. The Christian message of this book subtly permeates, but is not overt.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Rob Hall & Denver Moore

(This is one of my favorite books!) Rob Hall is a white international art dealer whose wife dragged him to serve a meal at a homeless shelter. Denver is a homeless black man who Rob met there. This is a true story of two people, how they met and how they changed each other's lives -- and it's not how you think! You will never look at poverty the same way again.

Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untameable God by Mark Galli

Think Jesus is a kind-hearted, but kind of milk-toast wimp? Galli explores several passages from the New Testament that show just the kind of sometimes stern, confrontational man the real Jesus was. If people thought Christian fiction was boring, but were gripped by Riven, they may enjoy a book about Jesus that also shakes some cobwebs loose.